Helmet



1959 H. GERSTIN 2,871,481

HELMET Filed Dec. 10, 1956 INVENTOR. HARRY GERSTIN ATTORNEY HELMET HarryGerstin, San Fernando, Califl, assignor to American Latex ProductsCorporation, Hawthorne, Calif., a corporation of California ApplicationDecember 10, 1956, Serial No. 627,166

6 Claims. (Cl. 26)

The present invention relates to helmets and the like, and moreparticularly to helmets of the military type which incorporate liners ofcushioning and sound absorbent material and in which signal or radioreceiving members are inserted.

In helmets of the above-mentioned type, which are provided with earphonemembers, such members in order to be utilized most etfectively, must bepositioned in such a manner that they are in proper alignment with theear passages of the wearer of the helmet. Due to individual differencesin head size, position of the ears, etc., there may be a wide variationin the optimum position for such ear pieces, thus requiring adjustmentsto be made in the lining or otherwise in positioning the earphonereceiving openings therein. This necessitates the manufacture of theliners with the openings for they receivers in a wide variety ofpositions, or else requires individual modifications or alterations tobe made in the liner in order to suitably fit the individual user. Thismitigates against any standarization in the manufacture of the linersand means that there cannot be any interchangeability, so that a helmetliner of one particular design will not fit any great number ofpotential wearers. Obviously this creates problems in the manufacture,supply and storage of these helmets, and greatly increases the costthereof.

In accordance with the present invention, applicant has discovered ahelmet liner construction in which the earphone receiving openings arereadily adjustable to correspond to the ear passages of each individual,so that a standardized construction may be fabricated in advance inlarge quantities without requiring individual structural modification inorder to achieve proper alignment of the receiver with the ear passagesof the wearer. This objective is achieved by providing a liner offlexible cellular cushioning and sound absorbent material havingincorporated rotary adjustable inserts with an opening in which thesignal receiver maybe positioned, such opening being so positioned withrespect to these inserts that the position of the opening may be readilyadjusted by rotation of the insert with respect to the liner so thatproper alignment of the receiver with the ear of the wearer will result.These objectives are obtained by providing an opening in each side ofthe helmet liner corresponding to the general position of the ears ofthe wearer, and inserting into said opening one or more circularinserts, each being rotatably positioned with respect to the other andwith each insert being provided with an off-center earphone receivingopening so that when said inserts are rotated relative to the liner, theearphone receiving opening may be aligned in any desired position overthe general area defined by the opening in the liner. In order toachieve a suitable degree of ilexibility of adjustment, two inserts,each provided with ofi-center openings, are preferably inserted withineach opening of the liner.

A further important objective is the provision of a helmet liner withadjustable openings or pockets in pressure in constructions where anearphone is not present. In normal wear of insulated helmets over longperiods of time, the pressure of the sides of the helmet upon the earscreates a great amount of discomfort. Accordingly, it is desirable thatopenings into which the ears of the wearer may fit without pressure beprovided. As in the case with the positioning of the earphones, theexact position of the opening should desirably be adjusted to correspondto the ears of the wearer, ordinarily necessitating custom fitting ormaking the liner in numerous types and sizes. By providing the insertsof this present invention with their adjustable feature, each helmet canbe adjusted to fit the individual in a simple manner.

The above objectives may be more readily understood with reference tothe accompanying drawings and description thereof which appear below, inwhich:

Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation of a typical helmet;

Fig. 2 illustrates a view in elevation of the liner of Fig. 1 withopenings provided for the adjustable inserts;

Fig. 3 shows a view in perspective of the concentric inserts for theliner;

Fig. 4 shows a plan view of one side of the liner with the inserts inposition;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse cross-section taken through lines 5-5 ofFig. 1, illustrating the liner, the inserts and the earphone inposition. I

As shown in Fig. 1, helmet 10 is provided with a liner 11 and earphonespositioned in said liner in alignment with the ears of the wearer. Liner11 which is shown in Fig. 2 is composed of a suitable cushioning andsound absorbing material, which is preferably a cellular plastic orrubber material, such as polyurethane foam, polyvinyl foam, foam rubber,or the like, formed of sheet material of suitable thickness. This lineris provided with a pair of opposite enlarged circular openings 12 and12a which correspond in position to the general location of the ears ofa person wearing the helmet. The area of these openings is such thatthey would overlie the ears of almost any person wearing the helmet,regardless of variations in size or position of the ears. Fig. 3illustrates two circular inserts 13 and 14 preferably formed of the samematerial as the liner and having the same thickness. Insert 14 has anouter diameter conforming to the diameter of openings 12 and 12a in theliner and is provided with an offcenter opening 15 which corresponds indiameter to the diameter of insert 13. Insert 13 is provided with anoff-center opening 16, the diameter of which is such that it willaccommodate an earphone of a radio receiver. As illustrated in Figs. 4and 5, insert 14 is positioned'within opening lz in the liner, andinsert 13 is positioned Within opening 15 in insert 14. The oppositeopening 12a in the liner is provided with a similar pair of inserts.Prior to use by the wearer, the position of opening 16 and thecorresponding opening in the insert on the opposite side of the linermay then be readily adjusted to conform to the position of the wearer byrotating insert 13 within opening 15 and insert 14 within opening 12until the exact alignment of the earphone opening with the ear passageof the wearer is obtained. Earphone 17 may be inserted into opening 16either prior to or subsequent to this adjustment. adjusted either priorto or subsequent to insertion within helmet 10. It is apparent that bymeans of the planetary adjustability of openings 15 and 16 with respectto opening 12 in the liner, a highdegree of adjustability will result sothat an exact alignment of Patented Feb. 3, 1959 At the same time, theliner may be suitably the earphone with the ear of the wearer willresult. In-' asmuch' as the liner and the inserts are generally ofcellular plastic or rubber material, the resilience and frictionalresistance of such materials will prevent displacement of the insertsduring use under normal conditions, although adjustment is readilyobtained by' rotary pressure upon the inserts when the initialadjustment is made. the same individual, further adjustments will notordinarily be required although such adjustments may be easily made ifthe helmet is to be worn by someone else.

While a preferred construction would utilize two concentric inserts toprovide a high degree of variablility of adjustment, a single insertwould also provide a suitable degree of flexibility.

When the helmet is to be worn without earphones or the like, thepositionof openings 16 may be adjusted on opposite sides of the helmet tocorrespond to the position of the ears of the wearer, so that the earswill be received within the pockets formed by said openings, thusrelieving or eliminating pressure upon the ears while the helmet is inuse. In such case, opening 16 need not extend all the way throughrotatable segment 13 but may merely define a recess or pocket ofsuitable size and shape to fit over the car, while at the same timeproviding an insulating cushion between the ear and the side of thehelmet. V I

As many widely different modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of this in:

vention, it. is to be understood that it is not limited to the specificembodiment described herein except as defined in the appended claims.

The inventor claims:

1. A liner for a helmet having openings to receive signal members inopposite sides thereof in a position adjacent to the ear passages of awearer of the helmet, which comprises a head conforming sheet ofresilient,

flexible material, a circular opening formed in each side of the helmetcorresponding to the general position of the ears of the wearer, acircular insert conforming in thickness to the thickness of thelinerbeing positioned within each of said openings, each of said insertshaving a circular opening in an off-center position, and a secondcircular insert positioned within each Since each helmet is generallyworn by of said off-center openings, said second inserts each beingprovided with an off-center signal member re ceiving opening whereby theposition of said signal member with respect to the ear passages of awearer may be adjusted by rotary movement of said inserts.

2. A liner according to claim 1, which is formed of a flexible,resilient cellular plastic material.

3. A liner according to claim 2, which is formed of polyurethane foam.

4. A liner for a helmet, having openings in opposite sides thereof in aposition adjacent to the ear passages of a wearer of a helmet, whichcomprises a head conforming sheet of resilient, flexible material, acircular opening formed in each side of the helmet corresponding to thegeneral vposition of the ears of the wearer, a circular insertconforming in thickness to the thickness of the liner positioned withineach of said openings, each of said inserts having a circular opening inan off-center position, and a second circular insert positioned withineach of said; off-center openings, said second inserts each beingprovided with an off-center ear receiving opening, whereby the positionof said ear receiving openings with respect to the ear passages of awearer may be adjusted by rotary movement of said inserts.

5. A liner according to claim 4, which is formed of polyurethane foam.

6; In a helmet: a liner; a circular opening in said liner correspondingto the general position of an ear of a wearer; a first circular. insertrotatably positioned within said opening and having its outer edge areain frictional engagement with the inner edge area of said opening; anofi-center circular opennig formed in said first insert; a secondcircular insert rotatably positioned within said off-center opening; andan opening for an earphone in, said second insert; the position of saidopening being thereby adjustable to correspond to the position of an earof a wearer by rotation of said inserts.

7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,378,398 'Fielder June 19, 1945 2,468,267 Mondl Apr. 26, 1949 2,619,639Hendler Dec. 2, 1952

